Officials in charge of external affairs from parliaments of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia gathered in the northern province of Quang Ninh on August 17 during their seventh conference that focused on the role of parliament in realising agreements reached by the three countries in the Development Triangle.

Addressing the event, National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said that amidst the complicated and unforeseeable developments in the region and the world, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have actively coordinated with and supported each other for stronger partnership.

The Development Triangle initiative, which involves border localities of the three countries, has seen fruitful results in exploiting the potential and advantages of the localities, contributing to the growth in each country as well as the ASEAN Community, she noted.

Phong lauded the collaboration among the Committees for External Relations of parliaments of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia over the years, which showed the three parliaments’ strong determination in promoting their ties in a deep and practical manner.

The two-day conference, which marked the 20th anniversary of the initiative, also aims to evaluate the efficiency in implementation of agreements among the three countries and outline orientations for future cooperation.

Phong underscored that the Development Triangle cooperation over the past two decades has helped narrowed down development gaps and strengthen socio-economic development in the three countries as well as cement their close neighbourliness.

Despite their small economic scale, the 13 Development Triangle localities have showed efforts in improving economic restructuring, infrastructure system, education, health care, culture and environmental protection.

So far, Vietnamese firms have invested 3.6 billion USD in 116 projects in Lao and Cambodian localities in the area.

Representatives from Cambodia and Laos agreed on positive results in the partnership among the parliaments of the three countries.

However, participants at the event pointed to a number of issues that need to be improved in the cooperation, including connections in infrastructure, human resources quality, inconsistent resources and policies, complicated security situation and uncontrolled smuggling and trade frauds.

They stressed the need to assess advantages as well as difficulties and challenges in implement the agreements, thus mapping out new initiatives and solutions to suit the new situation and promote investment, trade cooperation and infrastructure connections in the area.

At the same time, the NA Committees for External Relations of the three countries should regularly share their experience and increase information exchange with the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Coordination Committee, they said.

The Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle area groups 13 localities with total area of 144,300 sq.m, accounting for 19.3 percent of the three countries’ total natural area, and a population of over 7 million.

So far, the three countries have held 10 summits at Prime Minister-level on the area, along with 12 ministerial meetings, producing fruitful results in many areas.